Mount device for connection of filament-shaped connecting bodies

ABSTRACT

A method and device for simple and sure connection of a filament-shaped connecting body, comprising forwardly feeding a collecting body of a multiplicity of filament-shaped connecting bodies L comprising a filament part f, a head h and a joining part k into a join groove  6   b  and a head groove  6   a,  which are provided on a side of a body  2,  from rearwardly of the body  2,  receiving the head h into a head support part  4   d  of a head conveying arm  4,  causing the head h to approach a tip end of a hollow needle  5  along a predetermined path from a position spaced from the hollow needle  5,  simultaneously causing a rod  10  of a piston  9  to force the joining part k into the hollow needle  5  to fit the same into a latch hole b of the head h to connect the filament part f in a ring-shaped configuration.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a mount method and a mount device, in whichfilament-shaped connecting bodies made of a synthetic resin andcomprising a filament, a head provided on one end of the filament andwith a latch hole, and a joining part provided on the other end of thefilament and adapted to be securedly fitted into the latch hole of thehead are used, and the joining part is securedly fitted into the latchhole of the head to connect the filament in a ring-shaped manner tothereby mount an indication card such as a price tag or the like, toconnect two or more articles together and further to connect connectingbodies themselves together, and to filament-shaped connecting bodies.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As proposed by the applicant of this application in, for example,Japanese Patent Publication No. 8473/1982, filament-shaped connectingbodies made of a synthetic resin are provided by integral molding of afilament part, which is provided at one end thereof with anannular-shaped head (female part) and at the other end thereof with ajoining part (male part), from an industrial synthetic resin such asnylon, polypropylene or the like, and by stretching the filament part toincrease strength thereof and to make a cross section thereof small tomake the same pliable, and the product according to the invention of thePublication is widely commercially available as “Locks” (trade mark) inJapan and in the world to be used for various applications such asmounting of a price tag or the like.

The head is annular or cylindrical in shape and is formed centrallytherethrough with a latch hole, which is formed in a middle portionthereof with a diametrically extending, annular engagement step.Meanwhile, the joining part includes a neck dimensioned to pass throughthe engagement step, and latch pieces projecting on both sides of theneck in a vane-like configuration, the latch pieces being supported byand engaged with the engagement step.

Such filament-shaped connecting body is such that in a state, in whichthe filament part is made to encircle a part of goods to be formed in aring-shape, the joining part can be inserted from either side of thehead to be fitted into the head, and thus the filament part can beformed in a ring-shape in one-touch operation by connection of the headand the joining part, so that it can be effectively used when variousindication cards (tags) such as a price tag and so on are mounted togoods, such as handbags, bags, footwear, for example, sandals, and soon, having string-shaped portions, and holes such as button holes and acombination of connecting bodies in the form of chain is used to connectto a show shelf goods being shown.

By the way, when such filament-shaped connecting body is to be used,there is the need of an operation of encircling the connecting bodyaround a handle of, for example, a handbag or the like, fitting thejoining part into the hole of the head for connection in a state whichthe joining part of one connecting body is throughout into the hole ofthe indication card. However, such connecting operation requiresmanipulation by both hands because it is necessary to hold goods and thehead with one hand and to manipulate the joining part with the otherhand, and so such manipulation is troublesome and inefficient, so thatvarious mount devices have been investigated, which is capable ofperforming such operation.

Mount devices have been proposed in, for example, Japanese PatentPublication Nos. 35489/1988 and 14704/1991. The-mount device describedin Japanese Patent Publication No. 35489/1988 includes a grip part and agrip rod, which are connected at central portions thereof to each otherto provide a construction like nippers as a whole. The head and thejoining part are connected between a latch guiding arm being anextension of the grip part and a movable arm being an extension of thegrip rod to present a state, in which goods is grasped.

However, such device gets in a state, in which it interposes a portionof goods between the grip part and the grip rod, to push the goods topossibly damage the same, and moreover the filament part is disposedbetween the latch guiding arm and the movable arm to be arranged in aU-shaped configuration, so that there is produced no space, into which aportion of goods having mounted thereto an indication card is inserted,that is, “space”, in which the mounting operation is performed. Also,there is involved a problem that the operation becomes quite troublesomesince the filament part having been bent into a U-shape above the mountdevice will contact with goods when the device is to be manipulated.

On the other hand, with the arrangement described in Japanese PatentPublication No. 14704/1991, a lower beak is provided in such a mannerthat manipulation of a lever causes the same to come toward and awayfrom an upper beak provided forwardly of a body, and the both beaks areprovided with guide grooves, respectively, whereby upon forward andrearward operations of a single pulley cause a belt-shaped articleconnected to the pulley to alternately enter into the guide grooves ofthe upper and lower beaks to thereby feed a head of a filament-shapedconnecting body to a side of the upper beak and feed a joining part to aside of the lower beak, and to subsequently make the lower beak approachthe upper beak to connect the head and the joining part to each other.

Since such device uses the single pulley to alternately guide the headand the joining part of the filament-shaped connecting body into theupper and lower beaks, however, it is necessary to precisely and rapidlygrasp the head or the joining part at a tip end of the flexible body,and further the opening and closing motions of the lower beak relativeto the upper beak are added to require a considerably complex movement,so that there are involved failure in a motion for receiving the head orthe joining part, failure in the connecting motion or the like, andfurther a problem in durability in terms of mechanisms.

Also, a similar device has been proposed in Japanese patent applicationKokai publication No. 310520/1996, which comprises a reception guide forguiding a L-shaped head in front of a body and an insertion guide sothat a belt is used to insert the head into the reception guide and apipe provided at a tip end of a piston supports the insertion part andis forced into the insertion guide together with an inserting part.

With such device, however, the reception guide projects in front of thebody at all times to be liable to interfere with the connectingoperation, and the forcing-in operation is unstable since the head isforced into the reception guide by the belt. Further, because connectingbands arranged on both sides of the filament-shaped connecting body areinserted into guide holes, which are provided on both sides of a forwardportion of the body in a longitudinal direction, and the lowerconnecting band is struck out, so that there is a problem that thefilament-shaped portion bends over a top surface of the body to easilycause the filaments to get entangled, thus tending to causing a trouble.

As described above, conventional mount devices involve various problems,and are not products that are entitled to be salable.

A first requirement in developing such mount device for filament-shapedconnecting bodies is the capability of simply loading a collecting bodyof a multiplicity of filament-shaped connecting bodies into the deviceand separating individual filament-shaped connecting bodies from thecollecting body to rapidly feed them to a part where the connectionoperation is performed.

A second requirement is the capability of forming an adequate space(bosom portion or distance for receiving an article, to which afilament-shaped connecting body is mounted), which can receive anarticle, to which a filament-shaped connecting body go around, andinhibiting filament portions from getting entangled.

A third requirement is to surely convey a collecting body of amultiplicity of filament-shaped connecting bodies in front of the bodyand rapidly make them assume a striking posture.

A mount method, a mount device and a collecting body of a multiplicityof filament-shaped connecting bodies, according to the invention aredirected to providing a device that can solve the above-mentionedvarious problems of the prior art.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

1) To attain the above-mentioned object, a method for connection offilament-shaped connecting bodies, according to the invention, and forloading into a mount device a collecting body of a multiplicity offilament-shaped connecting bodies L connected in parallel between twoflexible members J, J through connecting parts c of reduced crosssection, the filament-shaped connecting bodies comprising a filamentpart f, a head h formed on one end of the filament part and having alatch hole b therethrough, and a joining part k formed on the other endof the filament part and adapted to fit into the latch hole b toelastically engage therewith, and for fitting the joining part k intothe latch hole b of the head h for connection, the method comprising thesteps of:

loading heads h and joining parts k, which are arranged on the flexiblemembers J, J of the collecting body of filament-shaped connecting bodiesL, into a head groove 6 b and a join groove 6 a extended from a rearportion of a body 2 of the mount device 1 to a forward portion thereof,respectively, supporting filament parts f in a state, in which they arebent in a U-shaped manner to project laterally of the body 2, andfeeding the collecting body forwardly of the body 2 from rearwardlythereof;

receiving a head h into a head support part 4 d of a head conveying arm4 in a position in front of the body 2 and spaced a distance, whichreceives an article being subjected to mounting, from an axis of ahollow needle 5 projecting in a forward portion of the body 2;

having the head conveying arm 4 approaching the axis of the hollowneedle 5 along a predetermined path from the position spaced from thehollow needle 5 while advancing the head conveying arm 4, and having thehead h standing by at a tip end of the hollow needle; and

causing a rod 10 provided on a piston 9 to force the joining part k intothe hollow needle 5 at an inlet of the hollow needle to push the sameout of a discharge port and to fit the joining part k into the latchhole b of the head h to connect the filament part f into the latch holeb of the head h, which has stood by immediately before the dischargeport, in a ring-shaped manner.

2) The method for connection of filament-shaped connecting bodiesdescribed in 1), further comprises the step of feeding from rearwardlyof the mount device 1 two flexible members J, J disposed on both sidesof a multiplicity of filament-shaped connecting bodies L arranged inparallel to cause them to go around a joining part feed gear 14 a and ahead feed gear 14 b, which are disposed in a forward portion of themount device 1, and move rearward and to be conveyed along a laterallydirected path, and

in the above step causing the head conveying arm 4 to grasp one of theheads h in a position where the flexible members J, J go aroundperipheral surfaces of the two gears 14 a, 14 b, causing the rod 10provided on a tip end of the piston 9 to force one of the joining partsk into the hollow needle 5 provided in a forward portion of the mountdevice 1 to fit the joining part k into the latch hole b of the head h,which has stood by immediately before the discharge port of the hollowneedle 5, to thereby connect the filament part f in a ring-shapedmanner.

3) A mount device for connection of filament-shaped connecting bodies,according to the invention, comprises a lever 3 supported on a forwardportion of a grip part 2 c of a hollow body 2 to appear and disappear,an intermediate lever 3A driven by the lever 3, a piston 9, which isguided to move in a forward and backward direction of the body 2 andwith which the intermediate lever 3A engages, a rod 10 extended forwardfrom the piston 9 for pushing out a joining part k, a hollow needle 5disposed axially of the rod 10 to be mounted in the body 2, a gear feedlever 12 adapted to turn upon reciprocation of the piston 9, a joiningpart feed gear 14 a and a head feed gear 14 b, which are disposed in aforward end portion of the body 2, ratchet wheels 15 a, 15 b,respectively, provided adjacent the both gears 14 a, 14 b, feed pawls 12f, 12 g incorporated into pawl support parts 12 d, 12 e provided at atip end of the gear feed lever 12 and adapted to mesh with the ratchetwheels 15 a, 15 b, respectively, a head groove 6 b and a join groove 6a, which are formed to communicate to feed positions of the joining partk and of the head h on peripheral surfaces of the joining part feed gear14 a and the head feed gear 14 b, and a head conveying arm 4 driven bythe piston 9 and supported by a swinging linkage including a parallellinkage,

and wherein the head conveying arm 4 grasps a foremost head h in aposition of the head feed gear 14 b, to which filament-shaped connectingbodies L are supplied, and moves the same along a predetermined path bymeans of a linkage supporting the head conveying arm 4 to make the samestand by immediately before a discharge port of the hollow needle 5, andin the mean time the rod 10 projecting at a tip end of the piston 9causes a foremost joining part k in a position of the joining part feedgear 14 a, to which filament-shaped connecting bodies L are supplied, tobe inserted and latched into the latch hole b of the head h grasped bythe head conveying arm 4.

4) The mount device for connection of filament-shaped connecting bodies,described in 3), is constructed such that heads h and joining parts k offilament-shaped connecting bodies L are intermittently pushed out to beconnected to each other by the gripping operation of the lever 3, whichis provided on a forward portion of a grip part 2 c of the body 2 of themount device 1 in a manner to be elastically pushed out;

the gripping operation of the lever 3 causes the gear feed lever 12 toturn interlocking with advancement of the piston 9, and stores anelastic force in a spring 12 h connected to the gear feed lever 12 uponturning of the gear feed lever 12, and the releasing operation of thelever 3 causes the gears 14 a, 14 b to rotate making use of the elasticforce of the spring 12 h;

and the gear feed lever 12 stores an elastic force in the spring 12 h ina former stage of the turning, and in a latter stage performs connectionof the head h and the joining part k with each other in a state, inwhich the elastic force is preserved in the spring 12 h, and releasesthe elastic force from the spring 12 h upon the releasing operation ofthe lever 3 to thereby convey the filament-shaped connecting bodies L.

5) The mount device for connection of filament-shaped connecting bodies,described in 3), is constructed such that the gear feed lever 12comprises a guide surface 12E for inclining the lever 12 interlockingwith advancement of the piston 9 in a former stage of the grippingoperation of the lever 3 to store an elastic force in a spring 12 h, anda guide surface 12K contiguous to the guide surface 12E in a dogleggedconfiguration for maintaining a posture of the lever 12 in a latterstage of the gripping operation during advancement of the piston 9, anda guide body 12L, which is turnably provided to cooperate with the guidesurface 12E to assume a V-shape and of which a tip end is contiguous tothe guide surface 12K;

an elastic force is stored in the spring 12 h while an actuating part 11adapted to move on the guide surface 12E together with the piston 9moves, connection of a connecting body L is carried out while theactuating part 11 moves on the guide surface 12K, a posture of the lever12 is maintained while the actuating part 11 moves on a guide surface ofthe guide body 12L, and when the actuating part 11 gets out of an end ofthe guide body 12L. the elastic force of the spring 12 h causes the gearfeed lever 12 to swing to move a filament-shaped connecting body L to asucceeding striking position.

6) In the mount device for connection of filament-shaped connectingbodies, described in 3), the joining part feed gear 14 a and the headfeed gear 14 b are provided in a forward portion of the body 2, andpaths are formed in the body 2, along which flexible members J, J arecaused to engage with halves of peripheries of the both gears 14 a, 14b, and are discharged.

7) The mount device for connection of filament-shaped connecting bodies,described in 3), comprises pawl support parts 12 d, 12 e, respectively,formed on a tip end of the gear feed lever 12 in a bifurcate manner, andfeed pawls 12 f, 12 g provided on and supported by the pawl supportparts 12 d, 12 e to mesh with ratchet wheels 15 a, 15 b, respectively,which are provided adjacent the joining part feed gear 14 a and the headfeed gear 14 b, and to project forward by elastic forces.

8) The mount device for connection of filament-shaped connecting bodies,described in 3), comprises a first base plate 20 and a second base plate22 arranged in parallel between a righthand body 2 a and a lefthand body2 b, which constitute the body 2, the joining part feed gear 14 a andthe head feed gear 14 b being disposed on a forward portion of onesurface of the first base plate 20, a head groove 6 b and a join groove6 a provided in a longitudinal direction of the body 2 in a manner tocommunicate to feed surfaces of the joining part feed gear 14 a and thehead feed gear 14 b, the rod 10 being provided on the piston 9 in amanner to move transversely in a diametrical direction of the joiningpart feed gear 14 a, the hollow needle 5 being disposed forwardlyaxially of the rod 10, the second base plate 22 being provided on onesurface thereof with a guide groove 9A for guiding the piston 9, andwith a first link 17, a second link 18, a third link 4 b and fourthlinks 4 a, 4 a′, which are driven by the piston 9, the head conveyingarm 4 pivotally mounted to upper ends of the third link 4 b and of thefourth links 4 a, 4 a′defining a parallel linkage, and further the mountdevice comprises the gear feed lever 12, the ratchet wheels 15 a, 15 bdriven by the gear, feed lever 12, and the joining part feed gear 14 aand the head feed gear 14 b, which are fixed to shafts of the ratchetwheels 15 a, 15 b.

9) The mount device for connection of filament-shaped connecting bodies,described in 8), a stoppage mechanism for maintaining a position whereparts constituting the parallel linkage inclines foremost.

10) In the mount device for connection of filament-shaped connectingbodies, described in 8), the stoppage mechanism is actuated upon contactof an end of at least one of the fourth links 4 a, 4 a′with a shaft 14 hof the head feed gear 14 b.

11) The mount device for connection of filament-shaped connectingbodies, described in 8), comprises a stoppage member provided betweenthe head conveying arm 4 and the body 2 to prevent vibration in aposition where the head conveying arm 4 is returned.

12) In the mount device for connection of filament-shaped connectingbodies, described in 8), the stoppage member comprises members forproviding magnetic attraction and fixing between the head conveying arm4 and the body 2.

13) The mount device for connection of filament-shaped connectingbodies, described in 3), comprises a manual feed roller 19 arrangedmidway between the ratchet wheels 15 a, 15 b to drive them.

14) The mount device for connection of filament-shaped connectingbodies, described in 8), further comprises stoppers 24, 24A arranged onsides of the ratchet wheels 15 a, 15 b, and a stopper release body 8Afor releasing engagement between the stoppers 24, 24A and the joiningpart feed gear 14 a and the head feed gear 14 b.

15) A collecting body of filament-shaped connecting bodies, applied tothe invention, a collecting body is made by integral molding of asynthetic resin, and composed of filament-shaped connecting bodies L,which comprise a filament part f, a head h disposed on one end of thefilament part and formed centrally thereof with extending through alatch hole b, and a joining part k disposed on the other end of thefilament part, the head h and the joining part k being disposed betweentwo flexible members J, J with connecting parts c of reduced crosssection therebetween, the latch hole b of the head h extendsperpendicularly through a plane, in which the collecting body isdisposed, and the joining part k is formed in a direction perpendicularto the plane, in which the collecting body is disposed.

16) The collecting body of filament-shaped connecting bodies, describedin 15), comprises latch pawls t provided on both sides of an outlet ofthe latch hole b extending through the head h and opposed to each other.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a mount device for a filament-shapedconnecting body.

FIG. 2 is a rear view showing the mount device for a filament-shapedconnecting body.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the mount device for a filament-shapedconnecting body.

FIG. 4 is a righthand side view showing the mount device for afilament-shaped connecting body.

FIG. 5 is a lefthand side view showing the mount device for afilament-shaped connecting body.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an internal construction of arighthand body.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state of an interior of the mountdevice prior to connection of a filament-shaped connecting body.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an inner mechanism of the mountdevice immediately after connection of a filament-shaped connectingbody.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing in an exploded state the innermechanism of the mount device, which is formed in a layered manner.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing parts associated with a piston, ahead feed gear and a joining part feed gear.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing in an exploded state a linkageextending from the lever to a head conveying arm.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing in an exploded state a gear feedlever and parts associated therewith.

FIG. 13 is a view showing a relationship between the gear feed lever andratchet wheels.

FIG. 14 is a view showing a relationship between the ratchet wheels andstoppers.

FIG. 15 is a view illustrating a relationship of movement between thepiston and a first link.

FIG. 16 is a view illustrating a relationship of movement between thepiston and the first link.

FIG. 17 is a view illustrating a relationship of movement between thepiston and the first link.

FIG. 18 is a view illustrating a relationship of movement between thepiston and the first link.

FIG. 19 is a view illustrating a relationship of movement between thepiston and the first link.

FIG. 20 is a view illustrating a relationship of movement between thepiston and the first link.

FIG. 21 is a view illustrating a head conveying arm and a linkage fordriving the same.

FIG. 22 is a view illustrating a state of movement of the head conveyingarm and of the linkage for driving the same.

FIG. 23 is a view illustrating a state of movement of the head conveyingarm and of the linkage for driving the same.

FIG. 24 is a view illustrating a state of movement of the head conveyingarm and of the linkage for driving the same.

FIG. 25 is a view illustrating a state of movement of the head conveyingarm and of the linkage for driving the same.

FIG. 26 is a perspective view showing a state, in which filament-shapedconnecting bodies are conveyed by a joining part feed gear and a headfeed gear.

FIG. 27 is a front view showing a collecting body composed offilament-shaped connecting bodies.

FIG. 28 is a side cross sectional view showing a collecting bodycomposed of filament-shaped connecting bodies.

FIG. 29 are side views illustrating an action of a gear feed lever, (a)showing a fundamental position of the gear feed lever, (b) showing astate immediately before the lever is inclined, and (c) showing a state,in which the lever is inclined to stretch and extend a spring.

FIG. 30 are side views illustrating an action of the gear feed lever,(a) showing a position of the lever immediately before it is inclined atits maximum, (b) showing a position of the lever when it is inclined atits maximum, and (c) showing a position where the connecting operationof a connecting body is started.

FIG. 31 are side views illustrating an action of the gear feed lever,(a) showing a position where the connecting operation terminates, and(b) and (c), respectively, showing a state, in which an actuating partmoves on a guide surface while the gear feed lever is kept in areference position.

FIG. 32 are side views illustrating an action of the gear feed lever,(a) showing a state, in which the actuating part moves to a terminal endof the guide surface, (b) showing a state, in which the actuating partgets out of the guide surface, and (c) showing a state, in which thegear feed lever returns to its original position and a connecting bodyis fed to the next striking position.

FIG. 33(a) is a side view showing an essential part of a head supportpart, (b) being an exploded view showing main parts of the head supportpart.

FIGS. 34(a), (b) and (c) are side cross sectional views showing anessential part and a state, in which the head support part holds a headh, (d) being a side view showing a stoppage mechanism for the headsupport part.

FIGS. 35(a), (b) and (c) are side cross sectional views showing a state,in which the head h and the joining part k are joined to each other.

FIG. 36 is a perspective view showing another construction of the headsupport part.

FIG. 37 is a perspective view showing a still further construction ofthe head support part.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[Whole Constitution]

An outward appearance of a mount device 1 for a filament-shapedconnecting body is shown in FIGS. 1 to 5.

The mount device 1 charges thereinto and uses a sheet-shaped body formedas an aggregated body by integral molding and comprising two flexiblemembers J, J (portions functioning as runner bars at the time of moldingand as collecting members) disposed on both sides as shown in FIGS. 27and 28 in parallel, filament-shaped connecting bodies L disposedperpendicular to the flexible members J, J and in parallel to oneanother, and connecting parts c (portions functioning as gates at thetime of molding) individually reduced in cross section, the aggregatedbody being disposed separably through the connecting parts.

The filament-shaped connecting bodies L comprises a filament part f, asomewhat flat cylindrical-shaped head (female part) h provided on oneend of the filament part, and a joining part k (male part) provided onthe other end of the filament part and adapted to be fitted into a latchhole b of the head h, the latch hole b being formed therein with twoelastically movable engaging pawls t facing each other, the joining partk being adapted to be fitted into the latch hole b in a direction shownby an arrow in FIG. 28 whereby the engaging pawls t are allowed toelastically engage with and grasp a mushroom-shaped neck a formed in thevicinity of a tip end of the joining part k to connect the filament partf in a ring-like manner.

Specifically, the joining parts k and the heads h formed on thefilament-shaped connecting bodies L are formed perpendicular to thefilament parts f in order to facilitate connecting operation by means ofthe mount device of the invention. These filament-shaped connectingbodies L are used in mounting an indication tag, such as a label, togoods, such as bags, for example, handbags and so on, and sandals, inthe form of string or band and having a portion sized to make winding ofthe filament part f easy, and to goods having a hole such as buttonholes.

The mount device 1 has an outward appearance such that a righthand body2 a and a lefthand body 2 b, which are moldings of a synthetic resin,are made to overlap together to form a substantially pistol-shaped body2, and a lever 3 is provided in front of a grip part 2 c to elasticallyappear outside and disappear inside as shown in FIG. 4.

A portion of a manual feed roller 19 is exposed in front of the body 2as shown in FIG. 5, and is turned with a finger tip to thereby enablemanually feeding a collecting body of the filament-shaped connectingbodies L to load the same in the mount device 1, or a release knob 8shown in FIG. 5 is operated downward to shut off engagement with a feedmechanism composed of feed gears described later to enable taking out anon-used collecting body.

Heads h connected to the flexible members J, J on a collecting body ofthe filament-shaped connecting bodies L shown in FIGS. 27 and 28 areinserted into a head groove 6 b formed lengthwise of a side of the body2 as shown in FIG. 4, and the joining parts k connected to the otherflexible member J are inserted into a lower side join groove 6 a,whereby the filament parts f are loaded in a state, in which they arebent in a horizontal U-shaped configuration as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The lever 3 is operatively grasped and released whereby the filamentpart f is connected in a ring-like manner in a state of connectingoperation shown in FIG. 4. In addition, the character L designates alonger connecting body and the character Ls designates a shorterconnecting body in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an internal construction of therighthand body 2 a, which is separately composed of a first righthandbody 2 a-1, a second righthand body 2 a-2, a third righthand body 2 a-3,and a lid 2 a-4 for opening and closing a tip end of the righthand body.The reason for this is that it becomes to locally disassemble therighthand body 2 a to open a necessary portion to simply and rapidlyadjust and repair the same.

The second righthand body 2 a-2 is formed with a guide groove 9A forguiding a piston 9, described later, back and forth, and the firstrighthand body 2 a-1 is formed integrally with a shaft 3 c for anintermediate lever 3A (FIG. 7) and a shaft 3 a for the lever 3.

[Summary of Internal Construction]

The internal construction of the mount device 1 is shown in FIGS. 7, 8and 9, and FIG. 8 specifically shows a state, in which a head h of afilament-shaped connecting body L is received in a head support part ofa tip end of a head conveying arm 4 and prior to striking, and FIG. 9shows a state immediately after a state, in which striking is effectedto attain connection of the head h and a joining part k.

The lever 3 in front of the grip part 2 c formed on a lower portion ofthe body 2 is pivotally supported by the shaft 3 a to appear anddisappear at an opening in a forward portion of the grip part 2 c due toan elastic force of a spring 3 d engaged by the intermediate lever 3A.Movements of the lever 3 enable guiding the piston 9, through theintermediate lever 3A, along the guide groove 9A shown in FIG. 6 toreciprocate the same back and forth. At the same time, a rod 10 forpushing out a joining part k of the filament-shaped connecting body L iscaused to reciprocate together with the piston 9.

Provided on an extension of the rod 10 and in a forward portion of thebody 2 is a hollow needle 5 provided on a side thereof with a gentlyspiral-shaped groove 5 a, which serves for passage of a filament part f,so that the joining part k is forced into an interior of the needle toproject from a discharge port at a forward portion of the needle toengage with a head h having stood by immediately in front of the hollowneedle 5.

Provided above and below and laterally of a surface, on which the rod 10moves, are a joining part feed gear 14 a and a head feed gear 14 b,which have grooves having a pitch equal to a pitch, at whichfilament-shaped connecting bodies L are aligned, whereby the graspingoperation of the lever 3 causes intermittently advancing a singlefilament-shaped connecting body L. In addition, FIG. 26 shows a state,in which filament-shaped connecting bodies L connected perpendicularlyto two connecting bands J, J are moved to a striking position by thejoining part feed gear 14 a and the head feed gear 14 b, striking iseffected, and only the remaining connecting bands J. J are transferredrearward.

As shown in FIG. 9, the body 2 includes a first base plate 20 and asecond base plate 22, which are arranged in a laminate manner, andrespective mechanisms assembled with the use of the base plates, a “Apart” representing a pushing mechanism for the joining part k, a “Bpart” representing a drive mechanism for the head conveying arm, and a“C part” representing a feed mechanism for the filament-shapedconnecting bodies L.

Respective mechanisms constituting the mount device 1 of the inventionare assembled as subassemblies by compartmenting an interior of the body2 in a thickness wise direction by the first base plate 20 and thesecond base plate 22, and making use of these first base plate 20 andsecond base plate 22, so that an operation of assembling a multiplicityof parts is easy and the mount device can be made durable.

[Feed Mechanism for Piston and Connecting Body]

FIG. 10 shows parts laminated on the righthand body 2 a shown in FIG. 6,and a joining part support member 9 b (a member for preciselymaintaining a posture of a joining part k) is arranged in a manner to beguided by one side of the piston guide groove 9A formed on the righthandbody 2 a, a tip end of the joining part support member being fitted intoa guide groove 9 c to be guided, and being stopped by a stopper 9 d atthe last step of movement. In addition, the joining part support member9 b is moved back and forth due to frictional forces between it and arubber plate 9 e provided on a side of the piston 9.

The first base plate 20 shown in FIG. 10 is overlapped on the righthandbody 2 a shown in FIG. 6 as if it were a lid, and a shaft 14 g of thejoining part feed gear 14 a is fitted into a bearing hole 14 e opened tothe first base plate 20 to be supported thereby, a shaft 14 h of thehead feed gear 14 b being fitted into a separate bearing hole 14 f to besupported thereby. Also, guide plates 14 c, 14 d made of thin metallicsheet are arranged along the gears 14 a, 14 b, whereby root portions ofthe filament parts f are made to go around to be guided.

In addition, although not shown in details, in a state shown in FIG. 10,the flexible members J, J are disposed on upper surfaces of the gears 14a, 14 b as shown in FIG. 26, the connecting parts c engage with thegears 14 a, 14 b, the heads h or the joining parts k are disposed onundersides of the guide plates 14 c, 14 d shown in FIG. 10, and furtherthe filament parts f are extended below the heads h and the joiningparts k.

A piston guide groove 9B is opened to a position in a lengthwisedirection of the first base plate 20 to be opposed to the piston guidegroove 9A shown in FIG. 6, the rod 10 is inserted into the piston guidegroove 9B from above to be positioned on a back side of the first baseplate 20, and a reduced portion of the piston 9 is fitted into thepiston guide groove as shown in dotted lines to become capable ofreciprocating.

Further, a suitable number of spacers 20 a for supporting the secondbase plate 22 described later are provided upright in suitable positionson an upper surface of the first base plate 20.

[Drive Mechanism for the Head Conveying Arm]

FIG. 11 shows, in an exploded view, parts constituting a mechanismdisposed between the first base plate 20 and the second base plate 22(FIGS. 9 and 12) for permitting the piston 9 to move the head conveyingarm 4 along a bundling path in the device.

A lever actuating part 9 g described later is formed at a tip end of thepiston 9, and FIG. 11 shows a first L-shaped link 17, as shown in FIG.21, disposed on the part in an overlapping manner. A projection 17 aprovided projectingly on a side of the first L-shaped link 17 contactswith an advancement cam face 9 h to turn while being guided thereby, andslidingly contacts with a retreat cam face 9 i at the time of returningmotion of the piston 9 to be guided and driven, and finally is fittedinto a groove portion 9 k, thus terminating engagement with the retreatcam face 9 i.

An end of the first L-shaped link 17 is inserted into a bifurcatedportion of a second link 18 to be connected thereto by a pin as shown inFIGS. 8 and 21, a lower end of a third link 4 b is fixed to a tip end ofthe second link 18 by a pin, and the shaft 14 h of the head feed gear 14b (FIG. 10) is fitted into a hole 4 c provided in the middle of thesecond link as shown in FIGS. 21 and 11 to support the third link 4 b ina manner to enable the same swinging back and forth.

A horizontal portion of the head conveying arm 4 is fixed to a pair offourth links 4 a, 4 a′arranged in parallel to the third link 4 b and toan end of the third link 4 b by pins. The third link 4 b, the pair offourth links 4 a, 4 a′and the head conveying arm 4 pivotally mounted tothese links constitute “four rod parallel linkage”. Further, movementsof a series of linkages including the piston 9, the first link 17, thesecond link 18 and the parallel linkage cause the head conveying arm 4to move along a predetermined connection path described later.

Concretely, the shaft 14 h of the head feed gear 14 b (FIG. 10) isfitted into the hole 4 c of the third link 4 b as shown in FIG. 11, pinsare inserted through holes 4 p of the pair of fourth links 4 a, 4 a′tobe made upright on the first base plate 20, and further upper ends ofthe third link 4 b and of the fourth links 4 a, 4 a′are fitted into agroove of the head conveying arm 4 to be fixed thereto by pins toconstitute the “four rod parallel linkage”.

Arcuate portions 4 n are formed on lower halves of the fourth links 4 a,4 a′, and the arcuate portion 4 n formed on the fourth link 4 a isadapted to abut against the shaft 14 h to latch the fourth links 4 a, 4a′. As described later with reference to FIGS. 21 to 25, when thelinkage moves to change its posture, the fourth links 4 a, 4 a′turn asshown in FIGS. 24 to 25 to make the fourth link 4 a abut against theshaft 14 h, thereby causing the hole b of the head h supported by thehead conveying arm 4 to align with an axis of the hollow needle 5.

Although being not shown, a buffer material composed of rubber isprovided around the shaft 14 h, against which the arcuate portion 4 n ofthe fourth link 4 a abuts, so as to cushion the fourth link 4 a in suchabutting state to stop movements of the head conveying arm 4. Inaddition, a similar effect can be provided in the case where a buffermaterial is provided on a side of the fourth link 4 a.

Further, a head support part 4 d, details of which are shown in FIGS. 33and 34, is provided on a forward end of the head conveying arm 4, andhas a head h fitted thereonto to elastically grasp the same by means ofelastic forces of parts, which constitute the head support part 4 d toconvey the same to a forward portion of the hollow needle 5 as shown inFIG. 8.

[Feed Mechanism for Connecting Bodies]

FIG. 12 shows a feed mechanism for filament-shaped connecting bodies L,the mechanism being formed between the second base plate 22, which isdisposed above and overlapped on the drive mechanism for the headconveying arm 4 shown in FIG. 11, and the lefthand body 2 b (FIG. 9). Ashaft 12 b provided projectingly on a surface of the second base plate22 to serve as a spacer is fitted into a hole 12 a of a gear feed lever12 to support the same in a swingable manner.

A projection 9-1 provided on a side of the piston 9 is fitted into ahole 9-3 of an actuating part support body 9-2 to be fixed thereto by ascrew, and a cylindrical-shaped actuating part 11 provided projectinglyon the actuating part support body 9-2 is made to abut against a guidesurface, described later, of the gear feed lever 12 to swing the leveras shown in FIG. 13. In addition, in the case of the actuating part 11being constituted by a roller, it can be made to act in the same manneras a cam roller.

A tip end of the lever 12 is bifurcated to form pawl support parts 12 d,12 e, and feed pawls 12 f, 12 g provided on the pawl support parts 12 d,12 e are made to engage with ratchet wheels 15 a, 15 b, respectively. Inaddition, the feed pawls 12 f, 12 g are made by springs (not shown) toproject to engage with the ratchet wheels 15 a, 15 b, as shown in FIG.13, and are made to interlock with stoppers 24, 24A, described later, todisengage from the wheels when the stoppers 24, 24A are released (FIG.14).

The ratchet wheels 15 a, 15 b are fitted onto a semilunar-shaped portionof a tip end of the shaft 14 g of the joining part feed gear 14 a andonto a semilunar-shaped portion of the shaft 14 h of the head feed gear14 b, respectively, shown in FIGS. 10, 12 and 13. Although being notshown, one side surfaces of the ratchet wheels 15 a, 15 b are formedwith grooves of U-shaped cross section, into which rubber bands R (FIG.12), respectively, are fitted and fixed, so that the wheels can bedriven by frictional forces.

The manual feed roller 19 is arranged midway between the ratchet wheels15 a, 15 b, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 1, and a rubber disk 19 a having asmall diameter is provided on a back surface of the roller 19 to contactwith the rubber bands R provided on the ratchet wheels 15 a, 15 b, sothat rotating the roller 19 with a finger tip causes the ratchet wheels15 a, 15 b to be rotated sequentially to enable advancing or retreatinga collecting body composed of the connecting bodies L.

As described above, according to the invention, the lever 3 adapted toappear in front of and disappear from the grip part 2 c due to elasticforces of the spring 3 d is grasped to cause the piston 9 with the rod10 to advance performing an action at a forward portion of the hollowneedle 5, by which the joining part k is forced into the hole b of thehead h of the connecting body L. In the first half step of the graspingoperation of the lever 3, the gear feed lever 12 is turned in such amanner that a forward portion thereof is raised, and when the lever isreturned to its original position, elastic energy (tensile force) isstored in a spring 12 h, which performs a feeding action for conveying acollecting body composed of the connecting bodies L.

Further, in the second half step of the grasping operation of the lever3, the head h is operatively connected to the joining part k. Then atthe terminal end of the opening motion of the lever 3, the gear feedlever 12 is returned to its original position at a stretch by elasticenergy stored in the spring 12 h, whereby a collecting body composed ofthe connecting bodies L is caused to advance by one pitch.

More specifically, in the first half step of the grasping operation ofthe lever 3, the gear feed lever 12 is made oblique, and an elasticforce is correspondingly stored in the spring 12 h connected to the gearfeed lever 12, and in the second half step of the grasping operation therod 10 provided in the piston 9 pushes and advances the joining part kto connect the same with the head h, which has stood by immediatelybefore the hollow needle 5.

The invention has a feature in preserving the elastic force of thespring 12 h as it is at the time of the connecting operation, andthereby using a grasping force of the gripping operation of the lever 3only for connection, during which the gripping force is not increased,so that connection can be smoothly attained in a light operation.

FIG. 29(a) shows that the gear feed lever 12 in a state, in which thelever 3 is not grasped, is located at “reference position”. In thisposition, the piston 9, the actuating part support body 9-2 (FIG. 12)and the actuating part 11 provided on the body are returned to apredetermined retreat position. The actuating part 11 reciprocateslinearly along a reference line 9K in parallel to a path, along whichthe piston 9 reciprocates.

The gear feed lever 12 is formed with a cam surface having a “dogleggedconfiguration”, the cam surface being formed with a guide surface 12E,by which a rear portion of the gear feed lever 12 is pushed down to beturned downward so as to stretch the spring 12 h to store elastic energytherein, and a guide surface 12K, which acts to force the joining part kinto the hole b of the head h of the connecting body L in a state, inwhich the stored elastic energy is preserved as it is.

A guide body 12L is turnably supported on an extension of the guidesurface 12K by a shaft 12M, and a discharge piece 12N is formed on thegear feed lever 12 in the vicinity of the shaft 12M. The guide body 12Lis caused by a spring 12J to have its tip end brought into pressingcontact with a tip end of the guide surface 12E, and turns up and downas shown in an arrow.

As shown in FIG. 29(a), the guide surface 12E and a guide surface 12P ofthe guide body 12L assume a V-shape, and the guide surface 12K isaligned linearly with a guide surface 12P of the guide body 12L, thesethree guide surfaces 12E, 12K and 12P assuming a substantially Y-shape.

The actuating part support body 9-2 (FIG. 12 corresponds to FIG. 29)starts on the reference line 9K as shown by an arrow in FIG. 29(a) uponthe grasping operation of the lever 3, is positioned at a starting pointof the guide surface 12E in FIG. 29(b) (allowance is given to movementsof parts including the lever 3 in an interval between positions in FIG.29(a) and FIG. 29(b)), advances pressing the guide surface 12E in FIG.29(c) to push down the rear portion of the gear feed lever 12 about theshaft 12 b as shown by an arrow to lift forwardly extending pawl supportparts 12 d, 12 e as shown by an arrow. Such inclination of the gear feedlever 12 constitutes a preparatory stage for feeding a collecting bodycomposed of the connecting bodies L by one, that is, one pitch, and inthis stage the spring 12 h is pulled to be gradually increased in anelastic force F generated.

FIGS. 30(a) to 30(b) show a state, in which the actuating part 11 movesaround a terminal end of the guide surface 12E pushing up the guide body12L while elastic energy F required to feed a collecting body composedof the connecting bodies L is stored in the spring 12 h.

FIG. 30(c) shows a starting point of an interval, in which theconnecting operation (fitting) of a filament-shaped connecting body L isperformed, and the actuating part 11 is positioned at a starting pointof the guide surface 12K. In this state, the guide surface 12K and theguide surface 12P of the guide body 12L make a straight line, and are inparallel to the reference line 9K.

From the state in FIG. 30(c), the actuating part 11 moves on the guidesurface 12K as shown by an arrow, and comes to a state shown in FIG.31(a), at which the joining part k is fitted into the head h fortermination of connection of the connecting body L and so the filamentpart f makes a ring-shape.

When connecting action of a single connecting body L is terminated asdescribed above, the grasping force on the lever 3 is released. Uponreleasing of the lever 3, the actuating part 11 retreats on the guidesurface 12P of the guide body 12L as shown by an arrow in FIG. 31(c) viaa state shown in FIGS. 31(a) to 31(b), and rides on the discharge piece12N at a terminal end of the guide surface 12P of the guide body 12L asshown in FIG. 32(a), immediately after which the actuating partautomatically disengages therefrom to instantaneously come to a stateshown in FIG. 32(b). The elastic force F stored in the spring 12 h ispreserved as it is in an interval between states shown in FIGS. 31(a) toFIG. 32(a) inclusive, and in such interval the gear feed lever 12 isalso kept in posture aligned with the reference line 9K.

When it comes to FIG. 32(b) from FIG. 32(a), the actuating part 11disengages from the discharge piece 12N to make the gear feed lever 12free to thereby release the elastic force stored in the spring 12 h. Asshown in FIGS. 32(a) to 32(c), in such state, in which the elastic forceF is released, the gear feed lever 12 is made such that a rear portionthereof provided with the guide body 12L rises about the shaft 12 b asshown by an arrow, and the pawl support parts 12 d, 12 e at the tip endthereof descend to rotate the feed pawls 12 f, 12 g provided on the pawlsupport parts 12 d, 12 e a predetermined angle as shown in FIG. 13, thusintermittently rotating the joining part feed gear 14 a and the headfeed gear 14 b, respectively, which are provided adjacent to the feedpawls 12 f, 12 g, one pitch (an angle, at which a single filament-shapedconnecting body L is fed).

Stated repetitively, the spring 12 h is elongated to store the elasticforce F in an interval between states shown in FIGS. 29(a) to FIG. 30(c)inclusive, and in such interval an elastic force F, that is, energy forfeeding of a filament-shaped connecting body L being subsequentlyconnected is stored in the spring 12 h while the lever 3 is operativelygrasped to perform connection of the connecting body L.

FIGS. 30(c) to 31(a) show an interval for connecting operation of aconnecting body L, in which interval the guide surface 12K and thereference line 9K are positioned in parallel to each other, and the gearfeed lever 12 is held in posture as it is to cause no change in lengthof the spring 12 h, so that the elastic force F stored in the spring 12h is preserved as it is. Accordingly, because a force to grasp the lever3 is used exclusively for connecting operation of a connecting body L,the connecting operation can be smoothly performed.

FIGS. 31(a) to 32(a) show a state, in which a force to grasp the lever 3is released to allow the piston 9 to return to its original position,and in which the actuating part 11 moves along the reference line 9K, sothat the elastic force F stored in the spring 12 h is preserved as itis.

FIGS. 32(b) to 32(c) show a state, in which a collecting body composedof the connecting bodies L is fed one unit, that is, the head h and thejoining part k are fed to a location where a subsequent connectingoperation is to be performed, and in which the elastic force F stored inthe spring 12 h is released as Fa to return the gear feed lever 12 to aposition shown in FIG. 32(c) or FIG. 29(a).

[Mechanism for Taking Out a Connecting Body L]

Subsequently, a mechanism for taking out a collecting body composed ofthe filament-shaped connecting bodies L having been fed to the mountdevice 1 will be explained.

As shown in FIGS. 12 and 14, a stopper release body 8A provided therelease knob 8 (FIG. 5) is supported with its central hole 8 b fittedonto a portion of a shaft 12 c, which is formed on an extension end ofthe shaft 12 b pivotally supporting the gear feed lever 12.

Projections 24 b formed on sides of the stoppers 24, 24A are made to beinserted into engagement holes 8 c opened in the stopper release body8A, and the release knob 8 is operatively pulled down as shown by anarrow in FIG. 14 whereby the stoppers 24, 24A are caused by theprojections 24 b to retreat so that latch pawls 24 c having meshed withthe ratchet wheels 15 a, 15 b by the use of elastic forces of springportions 24 e are retreated to release engagement of the ratchet wheels15 a, 15 b and the stoppers 24, 24A, thus enabling the joining part feedgear 14 a and the head feed gear 14 b to freely rotate.

The stoppers 24, 24A are provided centrally thereof with projections 24d, which are fitted into bearings provided on the second base plate 22(FIGS. 9 and 12), portions, which are disposed on one sides of theprojections 24 d to constitute extensions of the spring portions 24 e tocontact with hatched, stationary parts (projecting from an inner surfaceof the lefthand body 2 b) as shown in FIG. 14, and portions, which areformed on the other sides of the projections 24 d to have the latchpawls 24 c and the projections 24 b for engagement with the stopperrelease body 8A.

Also, FIG. 13 shows a state, in which the joining part k and the head h,which engage with the joining part feed gear 14 a and the head feed gear14 b, respectively, are sequentially fed to predetermined positions bythe swinging operation of the gear feed lever 12 accompanied byreciprocation of the piston 9, that is, by rotating by one pitch theratchet wheels 15 a, 15 b provided adjacent to and coaxially with thejoining part feed gear 14 a and the head feed gear 14 b, as describedwith reference to FIGS. 21 to 25 and FIGS. 29 to 32. In addition, thisstate is easy to understand with reference to FIG. 26.

[Operating State of Piston 9 and First Link 17]

As shown in FIGS. 11, 15 and 21, the lever actuating part 9 g is formedat a front of the piston 9, and is formed with an advancement camsurface 9 h, a retreat cam surface 9 i and a groove 9 k, which is formedlaterally middle of the retreat cam surface 9 i, and into which theprojection 17 a provided on the first link 17 is fitted.

FIG. 15 shows a state, in which the piston 9 is in a start position P₀before the lever 3 is grasped, and which corresponds to that in FIG. 7,the projection 17 a of the first link 17 being fitted into the groove 9k.

FIG. 16 shows a state, in which the lever 3 begins to be grasped, andthe piston 9 advances to a position P₁ as shown by an arrow immediatelybefore the drive mechanism for the head conveying arm 4 starts action,in which position an engagement 17 b on the first link 17 abuts againstthe advancement cam surface 9 h formed on the piston 9.

Further, FIG. 17 corresponds to FIG. 8, and shows a state, in which thepiston 9 advances to a position P₂ whereby the joining part k fits intothe hole b of the head h of the connecting body L at a terminal end ofadvancement of the head conveying arm 4 to make the filament part fring-shaped, and in which the engagement 17 b on the first link 17 abutsagainst a non-actuating surface 9 m of the piston 9.

In addition, while the engagement 17 b abuts against a non-actuatingsurface 9 m of the piston 9, the head conveying arm 4 advances andmores, as shown in FIG. 8 (see FIGS. 21 to 25), immediately in front ofthe hollow needle 5 to force into the hollow needle 5 a rod 10 mountedto the piston 9.

And, FIG. 18 shows a state, in which grasping of the lever 3 isreleased, and the piston 9 retreats from the position shown in FIG. 17to a position P₃ immediately after the projection 17 a of the first link17 abuts against the retreat cam surface 9 i on the lever actuating part9 g of the piston 9.

A distance (P₂-P₃) between the positions P₂ and P₃ in FIGS. 17 and 18,respectively, defines a so-called “buffer zone” where even when graspingof the lever 3 is released to allow the piston 9 to retreat, the firstlink 17 does not begin turning and hence the linkage does not beginreturning action. The presence of such buffer zone eliminates excessiveforces on the linkage to thereby permit smooth retreating movement ofthe head conveying arm 4. In addition, it goes without saying that therod 10 retreats simultaneously with retreat of the piston 9.

FIG. 19 shows a state, in which the piston 9 retreats to a position P₄from the position P₃ shown in FIG. 18 immediately before the projection17 a of the first link 17 slides down the retreat cam surface 9 i to fitinto the groove 9 k formed laterally.

Immediately after such state, the projection 17 a fits into the groove 9k and the piston 9 returns to the initial position P₀ as shown in FIG.20, and the first link 17 is rendered horizontal shown in FIG. 15, andthis state shifts to connecting operation of a connecting body Ldescribed with reference to FIGS. 15 to 17.

[Actuating Condition of the Linkage for Conveying the Head Conveying Arm4]

(State Before the Start of Connecting Operation)

FIG. 21 corresponds to a state of the mechanism shown in FIG. 15 orFIGS. 20 and 7, in which the projection 17 a of the first link 17 ispositioned in the groove 9 k in the lever actuating part 9 g of thepiston 9, the first link 17 is rendered horizontal and the third link 4b is positioned upright.

The head conveying arm 4 pivotally mounted to upper ends of the thirdlink 4 b and of the pair of the fourth links 4 a, 4 a′is positioned in alocation most retreated. In addition, the head h in such location fitsinto the head support part 4 d shown in FIG. 11 to support the same.

(Initial Operation)

An operation of bringing the mount device 1 of the invention near goods,to which an indication card is to be mounted, may be performed when thespace Q (space shown in FIGS. 4 and 8) between the head conveying arm 4and the hollow needle 5 is adequately large. Also, by mounting anindication card to the hollow needle 5 prior to the connecting operationof a connecting body L, the mount device 1 can be operated with onehand.

FIG. 22 corresponds to FIG. 16, and shows a state, in which theengagement 17 b on the first link 17 abuts against the advancement camsurface 9 h on the lever actuating part 9 g, and the piston 9 advancesto the position P₁.

FIG. 23 shows a state, in which the head conveying arm 4 has moved infront of the rod 10 extended from the tip end of the piston 9, and thepiston 9 advances to a position P₅ from the initial position P₀.

FIG. 24 shows a state, in which the head conveying arm 4 is made togradually come in front of the rod 10, that is, in front of the hollowneedle 5, and the piston 9 advances to a position P₆.

FIG. 25 corresponds to FIGS. 17 and 8, and shows a state, in which thepiston 9 is in a position P₂, and the joining part k having been pushedby the rod 10 to be moved in the hollow needle 5 fits into the hole b ofthe head h supported in the head support part 4 d at the tip end of thehead conveying arm 4.

[Mechanism on the Head Support Part 4 for Grasping the Head H]

A collecting body composed of the connecting bodies L is inserted intothe head grooves 6 b and the join grooves 6 a, respectively, which areformed above and below on a side of the body 2 of the mount device 1, asshown in FIGS. 2 and 4 to be fed forward, and connecting parts c of theconnecting bodies L are fitted into peripheral grooves on the head feedgear 14 b and on the joining part feed gear 14 a as shown in FIG. 26 togo around, are grasped at a central position of a tip end of the gear,which is the foremost portion, by the head support part 4 d andsimultaneously or immediately thereafter are cut by a knife N shown inFIG. 9.

As shown in FIG. 33(a) and 33(b) being a side view of an essential partand an exploded view of parts, the head support part 4 d comprises aholding body 4 f disposed inside of the most forward one of a pluralityof successive heads h, which move going around the head feed gear 14 bwhile being guided by the head grooves 6 a, and a first elastic piece 4g and a second elastic piece 4 h, which are disposed double-overlappingoutside in opposition to the holding body 4 f. The first elastic piece 4g is provided with a projection 4 j, which is adapted to be fitted intothe hole b of the head h, and the second elastic piece 4 h is providedwith a projection 4 k, which functions to push a back surface of thefirst elastic piece 4 g. Also, the holding body 4 f is provided with aprojection 4 m, which functions to position the head h.

An action of the head support part 4 d will be described. As shown inFIGS. 34(a) to 34(c) being side views, at the end of the lever 3 of themount device 1 being grasped and released, the head support part 4 dprovided at the tip end (lower end) of the head conveying arm 4, whichis caused by the linkage to perform a circular arc movement in front ofthe body 2, advances to a predetermined path and then returns to makethe second elastic piece 4 h contact with a stop 2 t, as shown in FIG.34(a), which protrudes laterally of the head groove 6 b of the body 2.

More specifically, when the head conveying arm 4 retreats to a storageposition as shown by chain lines in FIG. 4, the second elastic piece 4 hevacuates to make an elastic force of the first elastic piece 4 g renderweak. At the end of the returning motion of the head support part 4 d, ahead h (simultaneously, joining part k) being subsequently connected isfed into the head support part 4 d from below as shown by an arrow inFIGS. 34(a) and 34(b), and the projection 4 j on the first elastic piece4 g is fitted into one side of the hole b of the head h, as shown inFIG. 34(b), so that the head h will be elastically interposed betweenthe holding body 4 f and the first elastic piece 4 g.

Subsequently, when the lever 3 is grasped accompanying the connectingoperation, the head conveying arm 4 moves in front of the body 2together with a series of motions of the linkage to come to a stateshown in FIG. 34(c), and a lower end of the second elastic piece 4 hseparates from a stoppage portion 2 t formed on the body 2 to permit theprojection 4 k of the second elastic piece 4 h to push a back surface ofthe first elastic piece 4 g to thereby surely hold the head h on thehead conveying arm 4. And the head conveying arm moves to a position forconnection of the head along a predetermined path of connectingoperation.

FIG. 34(d) shows a means for surely stopping the head conveying arm 4 infront of the body 2, and comprising a magnet type attracting device 4Mprovided on a back of the head conveying arm 4 and a front surface ofthe body 2. The magnet type attracting device 4M is composed of a magnetplate and a metallic plate so that a single head h can be fed to thehead support part 4 d by securing the head conveying arm 4 on a front ofthe body 2.

FIG. 35 shows an operation of connecting adjoining part k to a head h.In FIGS. 26 and 35(a), when the lever 3 of the mount device 1 isgrasped, the head conveying arm 4 moves in front of the hollow needle 5along a circular arc path to stand by, although momentarily, with acenter of a head h positioned on a center line of the hollow needle 5.

Immediately after that, the rod 10 advances together with the piston 9to make the joining part feed gear 14 a push and advance a rear portionof a joining part k having been fed in front of the body 2 to therebyforce and fit a tip end of the joining part k into the hole b of thehead h, which has stood by at the forward end of the hollow needle 5.

The joining part k is further advanced together with the rod 10 wherebythe head h and the joining part k are completely joined as shown in FIG.35(b). In this case, it is to be noted that an inclined surface 4 j′onthe underside of the projection 4 j formed on a tip end of the firstelastic piece 4 g pushes a flame-shaped portion of the joining part k.

With such arrangement, the head h pushed against and held on the holdingbody 4 f by elastic forces of the double-overlapped elastic pieces issimply disengaged when a filament part f encircling a handle of goods,for example, a bag or the like is pulled upon movements of the goods,thus making it possible to efficiently mount an indication card to thegoods or connect two or more goods together.

FIG. 36 is a perspective view showing another type of head support part4 d comprising a first elastic piece 30 and a second elastic piece 31constructed such that upon advancement of a connecting body L a leadingsingle head h is forced between grasping portions 30 a, 31 a of thepieces having grooves m at tip ends thereof to be grasped elastically.

FIG. 37 is a perspective view showing another type of head support part4 d comprising a first elastic piece 30, a second elastic piece 31 and athird elastic piece 32 provided between and laterally of the first andsecond elastic pieces, the third elastic piece 32 being provided at atip end thereof with a projection 32 a, which is adapted to fit into ahole b of a head h to position the head.

The mount device I of filament-shaped connecting body L according to theinvention can be subjected to connection operation through the movementshown in FIG. 7, FIG. 8, FIGS. 5 to 20, and further, FIGS. 21 to 25.

Heads h of and joining parts k of filament-shaped connecting bodies Ltogether with connecting bands J, J are fed, as shown in FIG. 4a and 26,to the head grooves 6 a and the join grooves 6 b formed on the side ofthe body 2 of the mount device 1 to be successively conveyed, as shownin FIG. 13, by the head feed gear 14 b and the joining part feed gear 14a and with operation of the respective members such as the feed lever 12and so on. The following operation is performed at a tip portion of thebody 2 around these gears 14 b, 14 a.

At the last of a preceding connecting operation or of an operation ofgrasping and releasing the lever 3, the head h is held, as shown inFIGS. 34(a) to 34(c), by the head support part 4 d at the tip end of thehead conveying arm 4, and connecting parts c shown in FIG. 27 are cut bythe knife N shown in FIG. 9, the head then being conveyed in front ofthe discharge port of the hollow needle 5 and made stand by as shown inFIG. 4.

Meanwhile, the joining part k is pushed by the rod 10 as shown in FIGS.9, 26 and 35(a) to 35(c), and forced into the hollow needle 5 after theconnecting part c shown in FIG. 27 is cut by the knife N shown in FIG.9, the joining part then being forced and fitted into the hole b of thehead h, which has stood-by at the discharge port end of the hollowneedle 5, to connect the filament part f in a ring-shaped manner. Atthis time, the filament part f passes through a hole of an indicationcard mounted on the hollow needle 5 to mount such indication card tovarious goods. In a motion of the mount device 1 away from goods, theconnecting operation of a filament-shaped connecting body L is completedas shown in FIG. 35(c).

Industrial Applicability:

As described above, the invention presents the following effects.

1. In accordance with the method for connection of filament-shapedconnecting bodies, according to the invention, a collecting bodycomposed of filament-shaped connecting bodies held between flexiblemembers disposed on both sides thereof is loaded in the mount device,the connecting bodies are separated one by one from the collecting bodyto be successively fed in front of the mount device, a filament part ismade to encircle an arm of, for example, a bag with an indication cardinserted through the filament part, the joining part is fitted into thehead to achieve efficient connection to enable mounting of theindication card and connection of two or more goods or articles.

2. In accordance with the method for connection of filament-shapedconnecting bodies, according to the invention, a single filament-shapedconnecting body is separated from a collecting body composed offilament-shaped connecting bodies while the collecting body is made togo around two gears arranged in front of the mount device, a head ismade to stand by immediately in front of the hollow needle andsimultaneously a joining part is fed from the hollow needle to fit intothe head, so that the collecting body composed of connecting bodies issmoothly fed and so can be mounted to goods together with a price tag orthe like.

3. In accordance with the mount device for connection of filament-shapedconnecting bodies, according to the invention, a collecting bodycomposed of filament-shaped connecting bodies held between flexiblemembers disposed on both sides thereof is loaded on a side of thedevice, an operation with a lever separates a single filament-shapedconnecting body in good order to grasp a head at a tip end of the headconveying arm to convey the same in front of the hollow needle and toproject a joining part through the hollow needle to enable engaging thesame with the head, so that the filament-shaped connecting body can besimply connected in annular configuration.

4. In accordance with the mount device for connection of filament-shapedconnecting bodies, according to the invention, the gear feed lever isinclined in the previous step of the lever grasping operation to storean elastic force in the spring, the connecting operation of a connectingbody is performed in the subsequent step, then grasping of the lever isreleased, and simultaneously the elastic force is made use of to turnthe gear feed lever to move the connecting body to a sending position(striking position), so that there is no need of any surplus force forthe lever in the connecting operation, and so a worker can be relievedof fatigue in the connecting operation.

5. In accordance with the mount device for connection of filament-shapedconnecting bodies, according to the invention, the gear feed leverhaving a doglegged guide surface and a guide body for engagement withand disengagement from the guide surface is provided, whereby thegrasping operation of the lever causes inclination of the gear feedlever, during which an elastic force is stored in the spring, and theconnecting operation is effected, after which the elastic force of thespring is made use of to enable continuously and lightly feeding aconnecting body.

6. In accordance with the mount device for connection of filament-shapedconnecting bodies, according to the invention, a collecting bodycomposed of filament-shaped connecting bodies is fed to a side of thebody and the flexible members connecting the collecting body can besmoothly guided to a rear portion of the mount device, so that they donot get in the way upon operation of the mount device.

7. In accordance with the mount device for connection of filament-shapedconnecting bodies, according to the invention, it is possible tocorrectly convey a collecting body composed of filament-shapedconnecting bodies to the striking position for connection.

8. In accordance with the mount device for connection of filament-shapedconnecting bodies, according to the invention, the grasping operation ofthe lever enables sure engagement of a collecting body composed offilament-shaped connecting bodies while feeding the same to a positionof engagement in good order and without tangling.

9. In accordance with the mount device for connection of filament-shapedconnecting bodies, according to the invention, grasping of the leverenables stopping the head conveying arm in the foremost advancingposition whereby a head can be positioned precisely in front of thehollow needle for sure connection with a joining part.

10. In accordance with the mount device for connection offilament-shaped connecting bodies, according to the invention, graspingof the lever enables stopping the head conveying arm in the foremostadvancing position with the fourth link brought into contact with theshaft, so that a head can be positioned and stopped precisely in frontof the hollow needle.

11. In accordance with the mount device for connection offilament-shaped connecting bodies, according to the invention, the headconveying arm can be stopped relative to the body and grasped surely ina state, in which it is returned in front of the body to be receivedtherein.

12. In accordance with the mount device for connection offilament-shaped connecting bodies, according to the invention, the headconveying arm can be magnetically attracted to the body to be surelystopped and grasped surely in a state, in which it is returned in frontof the body to be received therein.

13. In accordance with the mount device for connection offilament-shaped connecting bodies, according to the invention, theratchet wheels adapted to engage with and convey a collecting bodycomposed of filament-shaped connecting bodies can be operated fromoutside the body, so that advancing and retreating operations of thecollecting body can be simply performed to take out connecting bodies inthe course of connection.

14. In accordance with the mount device for connection offilament-shaped connecting bodies, according to the invention, reverserotation of the ratchet wheels adapted to engage with and convey acollecting body composed of filament-shaped connecting bodies can beprevented by engaging stoppers with the ratchet wheels and thecollecting body can be taken out by disengaging the stoppers from theratchet wheels.

15. In accordance with the filament-shaped connecting bodies, accordingto the invention, a collecting body composed of filament-shapedconnecting bodies is formed by providing a multiplicity offilament-shaped connecting bodies between two flexible members withconnecting parts therebetween, and providing a latch hole in the headand a joining part perpendicularly to a plane where the multiplicity ofconnecting bodies are arranged, so that loading and connection of thecollecting body become much easy.

16. In accordance with the filament-shaped connecting bodies, accordingto the invention, latch pawls are provided on a periphery of a latchhole to face each other, so that when a joining part is fitted into ahead, a base portion of the joining part can be surely protected by thelatch pawls to be put into a sealed condition.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mount device for connection of filament-shaped connecting bodies, comprising a lever supported on a forward portion of a grip part of a hollow body to appear and disappear, an intermediate lever driven by the lever, a piston, which is guided to move in a forward and backward direction of the body and with which the intermediate lever engages, a rod extended forward from the piston for pushing out a joining part, a hollow needle disposed axially of the rod to be mounted in the body, a gear feed lever adapted to turn upon reciprocation of the piston, a joining part feed gear and a head feed gear, which are disposed in a forward end portion of the body, ratchet wheels, respectively, provided adjacent the both gears, feed pawls incorporated into pawl support parts provided at a tip end of the gear feed lever and adapted to mesh with the ratchet wheels, respectively, a head groove and a join groove, which are formed to communicate to feed positions of the joining part and of the head on peripheral surfaces of the joining part feed gear and the head feed gear, and a head conveying arm driven by the piston and supported by linkage having parallel links, and wherein the head conveying arm in a head grasping position grasps a foremost head from the head feed gear, to which filament-shaped connecting bodies are supplied, and moves the same from the head grasping position as the head conveying arm moves along a predetermined path by means of the linkage supporting the head conveying arm to a joining part receiving position to make the same stand by immediately before a discharge port of the hollow needle, and in the mean time the rod projecting at a tip end of the piston causes a foremost joining part in a position of the joining part feed gear, to which filament-shaped connecting bodies are supplied, to be inserted and latched into the latch hole of the head grasped by the head conveying arm in the joining part receiving position.
 2. The mount device for connection of filament-shaped connecting bodies, according to claim 1, wherein heads and joining parts of filament-shaped connecting bodies are intermittently pushed out to be connected to each other by the gripping operation of the lever, which is provided on a forward portion of a grip part of the body of the mount device in a manner to be elastically pushed out; the gripping operation of the lever causes the gear feed lever to turn interlocking with advancement of the piston, and stores an elastic force in a spring connected to the gear feed lever upon turning of the gear feed lever, and the releasing operation of the lever causes the gears to rotate making use of the elastic force of the spring; and the gear feed lever stores an elastic force in the spring in a former stage of the turning, and in a latter stage performs connection of the head and the joining part with each other in a state, in which the elastic force is preserved in the spring, and releases the elastic force from the spring upon the releasing operation of the lever to thereby convey the filament-shaped connecting bodies.
 3. The mount device for connection of filament-shaped connecting bodies, according to claim 1, wherein the gear feed lever comprises a guide surface for inclining the lever interlocking with advancement of the piston in a former stage of the gripping operation of the lever to store an elastic force in a spring, and a guide surface contiguous to the guide surface in a doglegged configuration for maintaining a posture of the lever in a latter stage of the gripping operation during advancement of the piston, and a guide body, which is turnably provided to cooperate with the guide surface to assume a V-shape and of which a tip end is contiguous to the guide surface; an elastic force is stored in the spring while an actuating part adapted to move on the guide surface together with the piston moves, connection of a connecting body is carried out while the actuating part moves on the guide surface, a posture of the lever is maintained while the actuating part moves on a guide surface of the guide body, and when the actuating part gets out of an end of the guide body, the elastic force of the spring causes the gear feed lever to swing to move a filament-shaped connecting body to a succeeding striking position.
 4. The mount device for connection of filament-shaped connecting bodies, according to claim 3, wherein the joining part feed gear and the head feed gear are provided in a forward portion of the body, and paths are formed in the body, along which flexible members of the filament-shaped connecting bodies are caused to engage with halves of peripheries of the both gears, and are discharged.
 5. The mount device for connection of filament-shaped connecting bodies, according to claim 1, further comprising pawl support parts, respectively, formed on a tip end of the gear feed lever in a bifurcate manner, and feed pawls provided on and supported by the pawl support parts to mesh with ratchet wheels, respectively, which are provided adjacent the joining part feed gear and the head feed gear, and to project forward by elastic forces.
 6. The mount device for connection of filament-shaped connecting bodies, according to claim 1, further comprising a manual feed roller arranged midway between the ratchet wheels to drive them.
 7. A mount device for connection of filament-shaped connecting bodies, comprising a lever supported on a forward portion of a grip part of a hollow body to appear and disappear, an intermediate lever driven by the lever, a piston, which is guided to move in a forward and backward direction of the body and with which the intermediate lever engages, a rod extended forward from the piston for pushing out a joining part, a hollow needle disposed axially of the rod to be mounted in the body, a gear feed lever adapted to turn upon reciprocation of the piston, a joining part feed gear and a head feed gear, which are disposed in a forward end portion of the body, ratchet wheels, respectively, provided adjacent the both gears, feed pawls incorporated into pawl support parts provided at a tip end of the gear feed lever and adapted to mesh with the ratchet wheels, respectively, a head groove and a join groove, which are formed to communicate to feed positions of the joining part and of the head on peripheral surfaces of the joining part feed gear and the head feed gear, a head conveying arm driven by the piston and supported by a linkage having parallel links, a first base plate and a second base plate arranged in parallel between a righthand body and a lefthand body, which constitute the body, the joining part feed gear and the head feed gear being disposed on a forward portion of one surface of the first base plate, a head groove and a join groove provided in a longitudinal direction of the body in a manner to communicate to feed surfaces of the joining part feed gear and the head feed gear, the rod being provided on the piston in a manner to move transversely in a diametrical direction of the joining part feed gear, the hollow needle being disposed forwardly axially of the rod, the second base plate being provided on one surface thereof with a guide groove for guiding the piston, and with a first link, a second link, a third link and fourth links, which are driven by the piston, the head conveying arm pivotally mounted to upper ends of the third link and of the fourth links defining a parallel linkage, and the gear feed lever, the ratchet wheels driven by the gear feed lever, and the joining part feed gear and the head feed gear, which are fixed to shafts of the ratchet wheels wherein the head conveying arm grasps a foremost head from the head feed gear, to which filament-shaped connecting bodies are supplied, and moves the same along a predetermined path by means of the linkage supporting the head conveying arm to make the same stand by immediately before a discharge port of the hollow needle, and in the mean time the rod projecting at a tip end of the piston causes a foremost joining part in a position of the joining part feed gear, to which filament-shaped connecting bodies are supplied, to be inserted and latched into the latch hole of the head grasped by the head conveying arm.
 8. The mount device for connection of filament-shaped connecting bodies, according to claim 7, further comprising a stoppage mechanism for maintaining a position where parts constituting the parallel linkage inclines foremost.
 9. The mount device for connection of filament-shaped connecting bodies, according to claim 8, wherein the stoppage mechanism is actuated upon contact of an end of at least one of the fourth links with a shaft of the head feed gear.
 10. The mount device for connection of filament-shaped connecting bodies, according to claim 7, further comprising a stoppage member provided between the head conveying arm and the body to prevent vibration in a position where the head conveying arm is returned.
 11. The mount device for connection of filament-shaped connecting bodies, according to claim 10, wherein the stoppage member comprises members for providing magnetic attraction and fixing between the head conveying arm and the body.
 12. The mount device for connection of filament-shaped connecting bodies, according to claim 7, further comprising stoppers arranged on sides of the ratchet wheels, and a stopper release body for releasing engagement between the stoppers and the joining part feed gear and the head feed gear. 